New stadium deal advancing

ATLANTA -- Will it be the first formal step toward the death of the Georgia Dome, and the birth of a new retractable roof stadium in Atlanta? The Georgia World Congress Center Authority will meet Monday morning to look over the tentative terms of a possible stadium deal with the Falcons.

The terms sheet is being revealed at 9 a.m. It will formally lay out projections of who will own what, who will make money from where, and how much it will all cost. It will also illustrate the plans for the possible sites near the current dome, and the likely steps in the process to come.

Talks have been going on for nearly two years, with numbers and projections leaking out all along the way. Construction estimates that started as low as $750 million have now run up to $1.2 billion. The stadium could be ready to go by 2017, with the Dome being demolished after the Falcons move into their new home. The state would own it, and the Falcons would run it.

Monday morning, the deal's preliminary terms will be put down on paper, with a possible vote signaling the deal will begin to formally move forward. The major negotiations would start after the terms are signed.

The state legislature hasn't yet approved it, but current plans are for nearly 40 years of hotel/motel tax collections to fund one third of the stadium's cost. Taxpayers might have to pay for road improvements surrounding the new stadium.